European leaders attempted to prevent Donald Trump from subordinating US policy to Vladimir Putin during their summit meeting in Alaska. Despite persuading Trump to impose sanctions if Putin did not agree to a ceasefire, Trump ignored these pleas. Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, sought to salvage a unified western stance but found Trump once again in alignment with Putin's interests. Mention of a ceasefire vanished, while vague assurances about troop presence in Ukraine emerged. Trump expressed hopes for a Nobel peace prize, revealing an affinity for appeasement, especially with Putin present.
Before the 15 August summit, the Europeans persuaded Trump to impose new sanctions if Putin would not agree to a ceasefire. But Trump willfully tossed policy like a stuffed animal out of the window of the Beast, eagerly inviting Putin to join him for a triumphant chariot ride.
Zelenskyy was not about to play the appeasement card. The European leaders gathered in an extraordinary posse to accompany Zelenskyy in an attempt to restore a unified western position.
Trump seemed favorable, if indefinite and imprecise, about western forces stationed in Ukraine to maintain its sovereignty. But the notion of a ceasefire, pressed again by Macron and Merz, had evaporated.
Trump dreams of receiving the Nobel peace prize, calling the Norwegian finance minister to lobby him. In Alaska, Trump melted again in the presence of Putin.
Collection
[
|
...
]